Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Chaos (Kardia Chronicles #1) by Christine O'Neil

Chaos (Kardia Chronicles #1)

Christine O'Neil

286 pages

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release Date: August 19th

Rate: Enjoyed it

Maggie Raynard is different. She's a descendant of Aphrodite, more accurate a semi-god, and she suffers the consequences of it. When she's angry, she becomes a dangerous weapon and when she put her ex-boyfriend in a coma, others started to watch her.

Mac Finnegan is a new student in Maggie's school and has the ability of pissing Maggie off to the point of losing control. And with losing control comes her deadly part. But Mac is way more than a regular high school student with an interest for Maggie. Just like Maggie he's a semi and he's in town to watch her and decide If she's a threat for the people and, most of all, for the other semis and their secret.

Struggling with a teenage life and trying to control her new powers, Maggie finds herself drawn to insufferable Mac and the more time they spent together, the more Maggie's powers start to show up and also their attraction.

But Mac has his own secrets and while Mac might be her salvation, he might also be her doom. And they can end up dead. Both of them.

Every story with a spike of mythology in it, brings my attention instantly. And when we received the opportunity to read and review this book, I didn't have to think it twice. I said yes and I am really glad I did, because thanks to Entangled Teen I have read a wonderful story full of mythology, supernatural powers, romance, forbidden love and action.

This is a great story because you feel identified with the main character, Maggie. Not because of her character or the way she acts, but Ms. O'Neil's writing. It's like she entered the mind of a teenage girl and extracted all her thoughts and experiences. The language and the writing style is what brings you closer to the story and makes you believe that is possible to be Maggie.

But not only Maggie. All the characters have their own personalities and characters and makes the story unique.

Maggie is strong, smart and tries to keep herself sane from all the craziness her life has turn into since her powers started to show up in the middle of the night. She is scared and tries to avoid any interaction with people, in general, to avoid hurting them. It's not easy and she yearns to be normal, deep down, although she's not weeping about it in every corner. She has a lot of attitude and she's not afraid to show it, unless not with cocky Mac. That's one thing I really like about her. I like girls who have a strong attitude and show it to people.

Mac, on the other hand, is the representation of control and order. He's sent by the council of semis to watch Maggie and decide If she's a danger. At first, you want to punch him in the face and laugh at the same time. He puts the main character in stressful and uncomfortable situations that make her explode and she has to control herself from killing him and leaving him drop dead. At least that's what she thinks is going to happen. But then Mac, surprises us, and he's handsome (he already was before), cute and sensible. And we know he likes Maggie. We could feel it. However, we know that there were something more restraining him.

The plot was not something new or that would blow your mind. We're talking about mythology and semi-gods, but the author creates a good story that shows us a strong, but fragile girl that didn't choose to be a descendant of Aphrodite and she has an enormous power that is her doom. That's because she may be more evil than good, to our eyes. Why? Well, putting a boy in a coma, it's not something good and Maggie is tormented by it, but it doesn't change a thing. She has to life with the consequences.

I really liked thinking of Maggie as a succubus. It reminded me a lot of the TV Show Lost Girl, without the mature parts of it. Remember that this is a young adult story. I felt bad for Maggie and wanted to punch Mac for not being more sensitive with her. It's not like she chose to be what she is or hurt people. He's kind of a jerk, at first. But we still love him.

I loved the twists and unexpected turns this story has and I was really relieved, sort of, to know all the truth at the end of the story. Well, when you start to approach the end of the story and everything goes wrong and the bad guys are winning and those things that usually happen.

This series has a lot of potential and I am definitely going to follow this books, because Maggie's story does not end up after fighting with the bad ones, it has only started. Once I started reading this book I couldn't stop and I was left heartbroken. I could not believe that their story ended like this and I hope to read that they find I solution. However, I also think that it was not only a clever and unexpected turn in the story, but a fascinating one that would keep readers yearning and waiting anxiously for the second book. I can say this for experience.

I highly recommend this book for fans of young adult stories with a mix of supernatural/paranormal stuff, mythology and fantasy. And encourage other fans of young adult, to read Maggie's story, because I know that you would enjoy it. Because the characters are funny, the story is incredible, full of mythology, magic and action and you'd get hooked with the forbidden love and hate of this story.

And because I am unofficially a fan of the Kardia Chronicles, I am giving this book a four and a half gorjuss dolls from our ranking.

Don't miss Maggie story and meet gorgeous Mac, because this story can be lovable and dangerous, as well.